Preparing to take the California State Bar

For most students attending law school today, and for those enrolled at California Desert Trial Academy College of Law, taking the California State Bar Exam is the end of a long educational journey, testing would-be lawyers before they head out into the legal world to take on clients and hopefully flourish as well-rounded trial attorneys. The California Bar Exam is the test of all tests, although it certainly is not unheard of for a bright student to fail and have to take it again under what is usually significant stress; in many cases, students who find exciting job opportunities in threat of being rescinded, or they may even lose jobs they were already hired for with the understanding that they would pass the bar.

Many schools such as CDTA have the state bar in mind as they design their entire curriculum, also offering many other resources that will reinforce learning, including Saturday enrichment courses to help you with the essay writing, along with access to an expansive software, ExamSoft, that offers practice exams to help you gain more confidence before taking the bar.

While four years of law school certainly counts as intense training for taking the bar, most students exit law school and then go on to study rigorously again before the examination. The average law student studies for about 400 hours to gain success on the bar, with half of that spent on practice tests (very important!). If you aced all four years of law school, then you certainly may not require that amount of stringent studying time. Most students begin studying for the bar several months ahead of time, reviewing the law and practicing writing essays while continuing to test themselves too. The key, of course, though is to use your time in law school wisely, along with gaining as much valuable training and information during internships.

As the time for taking the bar becomes more imminent, take further steps to cut down on distractions, speak with family and friends and let them know that you will be involved in extremely intense studying until after the exam, and you may even want to create a daily schedule for yourself. Remember, these are only temporary measures, and soon you will be through it—looking forward to a challenging and stimulating career in law.

Are you interested in becoming a skilled legal writer and trial attorney? Our mission at CDTA College of Law is to educate, train, and develop extraordinary legal advocates. Your legal education will be comprised of bar-tested academic subjects, skills training, and values reinforcement. Upon completion of your 4-year course of study, you will be fully qualified to take and pass the California Bar examination. Call us today at (760) 342-0900 or find out more online here.